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                                  COST OF OBESITY

Obesity can be linked to the leading cause of death in America because of the correlation it has with health problems, and is often a focal point for limited or fixed income families. What is Obesity?  The most common tools health care professionals use to determine whether individuals are overweight or obese are body mass index and waist measurements, both of which estimate how fat is distributed in the body. BMI is a measure of body fat based on an individual’s height and weight, but it may not accurately estimate body fat content in athletes or individuals with muscular builds. According to the National Institutes of Health, if you have excess abdominal (belly) fat, you're at an increased risk for health issues such as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. The risks increase with a waist circumference of greater than 40 inches in males and greater than 35 inches in females. There are many reasons and factors that lead to obesity here in America. We need to understand the concept of obesity before we can prevent or cure this disease. Obesity has effects on our entire country in some way or another. It makes up one third of our adult population and is a leading factor for health care costs being extremely high. To get a better idea of how obesity costs a nation, we can look directly at obesity vs income, obesity vs medical costs and finally how do we change our way of thinking.

There are many reasons why obesity has become a problem in America. The lead excuse being that nutrition is too expensive for the average household, which is proven to not have a correlation. According to the CDC, non-Hispanic blacks have the highest rates of obesity, followed by Mexican Americans, all Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites. When it comes to socioeconomic status, the data differ by gender. For example, college-educated women and women who earn higher incomes are less likely to be obese than women who didn't graduate high school or earn lower salaries. However, such correlations don't exist among men, for whom obesity is roughly the same across income levels. In fact, higher incomes were associated with increased obesity rates among non-Hispanic black and Mexican-American men, the CDC reports. Top Roman for example is the cheapest meal for anyone to make, but this does not make you gain weight. Sure, it may have 910mg of sodium but still also contains 5g of protein vs an egg which is just as cheap to boil and has 6g of protein and only 62mg of sodium. "There is no single, simple answer to explain the obesity patterns" in America, says Walter Willett, who chairs the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Part of this is due to lower incomes and education, which result in purchases of cheap foods that are high in refined starch and sugar. More deeply, this also reflects lower public investment in education, public transportation, and recreational facilities," he says. The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed with a sedentary lifestyle have made obesity the new normal in America. And that makes it even harder to change, Willett says. Now, it is impossible to live life and eat any kind of food and maintain or lose weight if you are not actually doing some sort of physical activity. I agree, the term “gym” may be scary but physical fitness does not have to revolve around a gym. For example, simply changing your daily routine so you take the stairs instead of an elevator can drastically change your life. Did you know that 2 minutes a day of climbing stairs can keep off two pounds a year. How many times a day do you use the elevator? If you can do 8 flights of stairs a day you can reduce your death rate by 32%. Now, I would think that adding years to your life would be worth it if that means spending an extra year or two with your family.

Many health factors in Obesity weigh a huge part on the fight against the disease. Obesity has been cited as a contributing factor to approximately 100,000–400,000 deaths in the United States per year and has increased health care use and expenditures, costing society an estimated $117 billion in direct (preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services related to weight) and indirect (absenteeism, loss of future earnings due to premature death) costs. This exceeds health-care costs associated with smoking or problem drinking and accounts for 6% to 12% of national health care expenditures in the United States. First, type two diabetes is when the body reacts when blood glucose is too high. The body reacts by producing insulin to control its blood sugar level but over time the body will not be able to produce it fast enough. Consequently, your body is poisoned and is the leading cause of early death among obese patients. Next, Coronary heart Disease is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart. Plaque can narrow or block the coronary arteries and reduce blood flow to the heart muscle. This can cause a heart attack which is Obesity also can lead to heart failure. Thus resulting in death! A few more problems that may arise are Osteoarthritis which is a common joint problem of the knees, hips, and lower back. Extra weight can put more pressure and wear on joints, causing pain. Also, Sleep Apnea is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep. This is more likely caused when a person has more fat stored around the neck. This can narrow the airway, making it hard to breathe. There are many more health factors that can arise from obesity, everyone is different and may experience different health risks but the ones previously listed are the top factors in most obesity cases.

            Obesity does not only have effects on adults but also children and teens are adversely affected. Historically, obesity primarily affected adults. This has changed in the last two decades. 15-25 percent of American children and adolescents are now obese. Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese in adulthood and to develop obesity-related health problems. Immediate health effects can be but not limited to: Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem. Long Term health effects for Obesity in children and adolescents are likely to be obese as adults11-14 and are therefore more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. One study showed that children who became obese as early as age 2 were more likely to be obese as adults. Overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk for many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The dietary and physical activity behaviors of children and adolescents are influenced by many sectors of society, including families, communities, schools, child care settings, medical care providers, faith-based institutions, government agencies, the media, and the food and beverage industries and entertainment industries. Schools play a particularly critical role by establishing a safe and supportive environment with policies and practices that support healthy behaviors. Schools also provide opportunities for students to learn about and practice healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. Communities can also advocate for quality nutrition programs and physical education in their school systems. One way to do that is through school health advisory councils. The school health advisory council is something that doesn't cost any money and uses a relatively little amount of time, and it brings together a diverse group of people from the community and the schools. The best way to prevent Obesity is to understand and provide alternative options.

            There are many reasons why not to let your weight become a problem or to change your weight when you are at risk because of health reasons, but there are many other reasons to consider as well, such as the cost of living. For example, the cost of gasoline increases because of the consumption of gasoline is higher with obesity. For every additional pound a passenger weighs in the United States we us up an additional 39 million gallons of fuel each year based on a study done on obesity and driving habits in 2006. Obesity has grown since then so it is very likely that number has increased as well. Also, treating obesity and obesity related conditions costs billions of dollars a year in health care. An estimated sixteen percent of active duty U.S. military personnel were obese in 2004, with the cost of remedial bariatric surgery for the military reaching $15 million in 2002. Obesity is currently the largest single cause for the discharge of uniformed personnel. The U.S. spent $190 billion on obesity-related health care expenses in 2005 doubling previous estimates. Looking ahead, researchers have estimated that by 2030, if obesity trends continue unchecked, obesity-related medical costs alone could rise by $48 to $66 billion a year in the U.S. Obesity is increasingly becoming a national challenge with real implications for the country's economic well-being. Given the significant financial burden imposed by obesity, employers have a stake in reducing obesity in the workforce. Obese workers miss more days of work and cost employers more in medical and disability claims as well as workers compensation claims. As a result, an average firm with 1,000 employees faces $285,000 per year in extra costs associated with obesity. In addition to the costs of obesity to businesses, obese employees are subject to significant discrimination in the workplace due to weight stigma.

            Obesity is a giant problem that can change your life, but there are ways of beating this epidemic, you just have to be willing to put in the effort. First of all it is hard to introduce change into any lifestyle, especially one that is comfortable but a few rough months of change will in the end be years’ worth of value. The first step is making changes to your diet. Begin by limiting the calorie intake you consume a day, not a lot but just less portions and continually minimizing meals over the course of several months. Making a life change will not happen overnight because the after result will result in binge eating. Once you have made a comfortable change goal then you must assess what foods you are consuming and the nutritional facts they hold. Start by eliminating certain bad foods one at a time, for example make the choice to cut out soda and then the next month candy bars. This will eventually cut cravings or replace with healthier sweets such as fruit. Furthermore, I have found the best way to eat healthy is to plan my meals out in advance.  This eliminates the need to be tempted to deviate from the healthy foods by visiting the vending machine. Also, if you keep track of your meals physically you are more likely to recognize when you slip from the plan of healthy eating. The key to stopping obesity is to begin a healthier lifestyle. Start small and work your way up to being more active. Begin with walking around your block or up the stairs at work instead of using the elevator, and work your way up to higher impact physical activity. Find something you are interested in such as biking or playing a sport and do it on a regular basis. Explore physical options, find something that suits you and get to moving around to help with weight loss. The key is finding something that you will look forward to on a daily bases. Obesity puts people at risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. These illnesses, of course, exact a financial toll too. In 2008, this country spent approximately $147 billion on medical costs, the CDC says. If every American were to lose an average of 10 pounds, the United States would save roughly $29 billion a year within five years, says Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit organization promoting national health. "If you really want to bend the cost curves, it isn't doing things at the margins" that counts, he says, but "taking on the fundamental challenge of preventing and reversing chronic disease." Obesity exacts a tremendous price on overweight individuals, leading to serious chronic health conditions, disability, and psychological suffering. Society-wide, the economic burden of obesity is similarly substantial, calling for urgent preventive action from health insurers, businesses, government and other stakeholders.

Obesity is one disease that can be prevented, so take charge and make a difference in your life, prevent the unnecessary suffering. Obesity is a struggle in America but only you can help prevent or change it. Obesity has effects on the entire country and its dilemmas are difficult to grasp. The local governments and communities can play an important role in developing environments that encourage and support active living. They can increase opportunities for physical activity by encouraging mixed-use development to allow for easy access to schools, businesses, parks, and grocery stores. They can implement traffic-safety measures and crime-prevention strategies. Building bike paths, sidewalks and crosswalks will foster safe and easy access to more physical activity. States and local governments can provide incentives to existing markets to offer healthier food, and they can also provide incentives for new businesses to establish their supermarkets in low income areas. Once you understand the health risks involved you can change it one step at a time. The effect obesity has on your body is not only health concerns and you are not the only one effected, obesity effects all. Do not let money or the lack of knowledge be an excuse, simply embrace change and value life. If you set your mind to change anything is possible. Obesity exacts a tremendous price on overweight individuals, leading to serious chronic health conditions, disability, and psychological suffering. Society-wide, the economic burden of obesity is similarly substantial, calling for urgent preventive action from health insurers, businesses, government and other stakeholders. Take it one day at a time and work towards your goals. You can improve your quality of life and help to prevent many avoidable diseases that are brought on by obesity. Losing weight isn't always easy, and there's no quick fix. But with motivation and dedication to adopting healthy lifestyle habits, including eating a healthy, balanced diet, following an appropriate exercise routine and managing stress, you can achieve successful weight loss, take control of your health and enhance your overall quality of life. We need a successful model that will help us understand what to do to address obesity. A good example is the recent healthy study. This comprehensive intervention was implemented in several schools and aimed to reduce obesity by concentrating on behavior and environment. This intervention delivered most of the strategies we believe to be effective in schools. Although the program produced a reduction in obesity, this reduction was not greater than the reduction seen in the control schools that did not receive the intervention. This does not mean we should not be intervening in schools, but rather that it may require concerted efforts across behavioral settings to reduce obesity. Although we need successful models, there is a great deal of urgency in responding to the obesity epidemic. An excellent example is the effort to get menu labeling in restaurants, which is moving rapidly toward being national policy. The evaluation of this strategy is still ongoing, and it is not clear what impact it will have on obesity rates. We should be encouraging efforts like this, but we must evaluate them rigorously. Once we become serious about addressing obesity, it will likely take decades to reverse obesity rates to levels seen 30 years ago. Meanwhile, the prevalence of overweight and obesity remains high and quite likely will continue to increase. We have to start making a difference in our individual lives so we can impact the nation.

Peer review

1. What do you think is the main idea of this piece?

2. What is the thesis statement in this essay?

NOTE: If you have trouble identifying either the question/problem/issue or the thesis, be sure to concentrate on how to help the writer clarify the problem.

3. List all major topics in this essay that match/relate to the thesis statement.

4. List any topics or ideas that do not relate to the thesis.

5. List and describe any passages in this essay that you do not understand. Include why you do not understand these sections.

6. Mark or highlight any grammatical or spelling errors that need to be addressed. (Use a different color or style font to do this.) Do not correct these errors just point them out.

7. Provide general feedback to your partner. For example: How did your react to the topic? Were you able to follow the writer’s thoughts? What were the strongest points of the writing? What were the weakest points and why?

 

8. Does the piece present sound, logical argumentation? List the topic sentences that point to the main arguments, counterarguments, and rebuttals in the paper.